178 



THE GAME BREEDER 



the goose pasture. The geese will make 

 their own nests and protect them also. 

 I have had two geese lay two clutches 

 of eggs but the geese will not lay a sec- 

 ond time unless the first eggs are taken. 

 I have often tried removing the eggs, 

 hoping to increase the number, but I 

 have about decided it is best to let the 

 goose keep her eggs in the nest unless 

 the weather is too cold, then the egg? 

 are removed and carefully turned every 

 day. A few glass eggs should be left in 

 the nest of the goose. I never have had 

 over twelve eggs from one goose, these 

 being two clutches of eggs. If the gos- 

 lings are allowed to run with the mother 

 goose on a good grass pasture with ac- 

 cess to water, they will eat very little 

 food besides grass. 



The gadwall duck, in proper locations, 

 is as easy to rear as the mallard. I be- 

 lieve all ducks are more certain to lay 

 eggs in captivity if they are kept in places 

 to which they come naturally every year 

 to breed. They undoubtedly will do best 

 when they have the same climate and 

 surroundings which they always have 

 had. 



I find it very hard to winter the deep 

 water or diving ducks, the canvasback. 



redhead, scaup, etc., in this climate 

 (South Dakota). The canvasback and 

 the redhead, however, soon will learn to 

 eat various grains and they are doing 

 well here. 



The shovellers can be raised easily and 

 they are much hardier than some of th< 

 other species I have kept, such as the 

 butterball or buffle-head and the ruddy 

 duck. 



Widgeons I found perfectly hardy. I 

 have also succeeded in rearing the birds 

 known here as the white-brant — the 

 snow goose. These birds seldom have 

 been bred in captivity. 



I have a very interesting and beautiful 

 pair of hybrid geese. My white-fronted 

 gander crossed with a Canada goose. 



I never sell wild cluck eggs. I find it 

 better to hatch them. I have shipped a 

 few eggs to friends but not often did they 

 get a good hatch. I think the eggs of 

 the teal, pintail and the other more deli- 

 cate varieties should be hatched under 

 hens and not transported. I am quite 

 sure much handling destroys their fer- 

 tility. 



I wish The Game Breeder great suc- 

 cess. 



WILD FOWL BREEDING IN LOUISIANA. 



E. W. McTlhenny. 



Both the green- winged teal and the 

 blue-winged teal should be given more 

 attention by game breeders, as they I 

 come very tame and breed readily in 

 captivity. 



I have no record of the green-winged 

 teal breeding in Louisiana in the wild 

 state. I have bred them for a number 

 of years in inclosures. The blue-winged 

 teal is beginning to breed fairly com- 

 monly on the wild life refuges. I think 

 most of these birds are from stock orig- 

 inally raised by me in captivity, as the 

 local raised bird seems to be increasing 

 here. 



The Florida duck and the mottled duck 

 both nest here in very large numbers and 

 a few mallards also nest here. The 



wood duck is a common breeder and, 

 according to the wardens on Marsh Isl- 

 and, both the gadwall and baldpate nested 

 last year. I have had gadwalls nesting 

 in captivity for a number of years and 

 a few of these local raised birds have 

 nested in the vicinity of my place. 



I have never sold any duck eggs, never 

 having kept more than enough of these 

 birds in confinement to supply my own 

 wants and those of a few friends. 



Our local Southern black duck breeds 

 freely in confinement after the second 

 year as does the blue-winged teal and 

 gadwall. It is unusual for any of these 

 ducks to lay eggs the first spring after 

 being hatched. I have found that the 

 black ducks lay just about the same 



